


with waves of this feeling

by maddypng



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, also this story naturally came from like one thought and then i wrote almost 6.6k about it, but here's some cute relationship stuff bc i love jake calling amy pet names, plus i thought it would be fun to explore amy's side so, sexy timez, slight mention of anxiety so be warned, this is mainly from amy's pov bc we always see jake's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-11-26 00:23:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18173399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddypng/pseuds/maddypng
Summary: Jake just called her babe. She’s not sure how she feels about that.(Alternatively: 5 times Jake uses a term of endearment for Amy and 1 time she uses one for Jake.)





	with waves of this feeling

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! so, ever since the season 6 premiere where jake called amy “honey,” it’s all i’ve been thinking about. so, here are 5 different scenarios where jake calls amy different pet names. in the first scenario, she acknowledges it, but that’s bc it’s the first time he does it in my story. after that, i don’t have her discuss it really bc she’s used to the pet names by then. it’s more just tiny acknowledgements.
> 
> also, this is my first time ever writing smut so pls be gentle. but thank u b99 writers for confirming perfect dick!jake. i own u everything.

**i. babe**

Amy’s been trying to figure out the missing link in this murder case for over seven hours. Her and Rosa have meticulously gone over the details, reading and reviewing every part, trying to see what they might have missed, to no avail. She cannot figure out why the perp would murder an elderly lady, who has no family alive. The woman has virtually no connection to anyone, and there seems to be no signs of forced entry… and yet, she was clearly murdered, seeing as she was found on her apartment floor in a pool of her blood.

“Hey, Amy, you okay?”

Amy looks up from the case file. Jake is staring at her with his bag over his shoulder ready to leave, with a mixed look of concern and amusement.

Amy sighs and says, “Yeah… I’m just tired. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out who would want to kill this woman. Rosa and I have gone over the details so many times, and everything is just starting to blur together.”

Jake just gives her a small smile. “Sorry. I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually. Hey, why don’t you regroup tomorrow? Getting some sleep might be good for you.”

Jake has a point. She is pretty tired, and she knows something might come to her after a good meal and a full night of sleep.

“Yeah, that’s not a bad idea.”

Amy closes her case file and starts to pack up.

“So, do you want to grab some dinner? We could go to your place after. I know it always makes you feel better to sleep in your own bed.”

Amy starts to smile a little bit. Her and Jake have been dating now for a few weeks, and it still makes her heart flutter whenever she thinks about it. Jake is her _boyfriend_.

She looks up at him and gives him a soft smile, which he returns in her direction.

“Yeah, dinner sounds great. Want to just go to the burger place a few blocks away?”

“Sounds like a plan. Wanna just walk or should we drive over?”

“Let’s just drive, so we can drive right to my place afterwards.”

Jake and Amy start to walk out together, making small talk, mainly just Jake catching Amy on his day since they haven’t seen each other since this morning. Jake was out working a case with Boyle and Terry. It relaxes Amy already, just hearing her boyfriend speak to her about his comings and goings of the day.

After driving to the burger joint (where Jake insisted on opening her door with a “ _for you, mer’lady!_ ” (" _what a dork_ ," Amy thinks as he does it)), the two settle into silence as they peruse the menu.

A couple of minutes go by, and Amy can tell that her boyfriend is staring at him.

Amy puts her menu down with a small sigh. “Jake, I can see you looking at me.”

He has the decency to look a little sheepish. “Sorry, babe. You just look so tired and…”

Amy fails to hear the rest of what he’s saying because Jake just called her _babe_. She’s not sure how she feels about that. Normally, in the past, she’s always found pet names to be a little demeaning. Maybe that’s because the men she had previously dated had always done it on like the second date, when they barely knew one another. She didn’t understand how someone she barely knew could call her a pet name. It felt just plain _wrong_.

When she dated Teddy, he called her babe only once. And that was several months into their relationship. She immediately felt weird about the whole thing. Amy awkwardly had to tell him she didn’t like pet names and she would prefer to just be called Amy. Teddy, seemingly a little shocked by this revelation, agreed to only call her by her given name.

But with Jake… it felt right. Maybe it’s because they’ve known each other for over five years at this point. They have such a familiarity with one another that it doesn’t feel forced for Jake to want to call her a pet name. And she knows it comes from a place of genuine love ( _like_ , she quickly corrects herself. Just like. They’re not there yet). Plus, the more she thinks about it, Jake has always called her by nicknames. She remembers to the first time he called her Ames. It had made her happier than she thought it would.

“Ames… Amy… hello?”

Amy looks up and sees Jake looking even more concerned now. She realizes she’s been lost in thought, thinking about the whole pet name thing.

“Seriously, are you sure you’re okay? We can just head to your place right now if you’re super tired.”

Her chest fills with fondness for him. She gives him a tiny smile. “Yeah, sorry, I just got lost in thought. And no, let’s stay, I’m excited for this burger.”

Jake still looks a little concerned. “Okay, if you’re sure. You can tell me at any time if you want to leave.”

She reaches over and grabs his hand, giving him a tiny squeeze in the process. “Thanks, Jake.”

He just smiles back at her. “So… wanna tell me what you were thinking about?”

Amy debates whether to bring it up. She doesn’t want to make Jake feel self-conscious about using a pet name, but she knows that honestly is always the best policy. Especially since she realized she actually likes being called pet names by Jake.

“Uh, you called me babe, and I was thinking about how I don’t normally like being called pet names because they never felt genuine,” Jake open his mouth, probably to apologize, but she pushes on before he can interject. “But I realized I liked it when you called me babe. It didn’t feel forced or anything. I don’t know why, maybe it’s because we’ve known each other for so long, or because you’ve always called me by a nickname, but it just felt right.”

Jake looks pleasantly surprised by Amy’s revelation. “Really?”

“Yeah, so don’t apologize. It was nice.”

Jake gives her a giant grin and squeezes her hand that’s still intertwined with his. She returns the smile, feeling happier than she’s ever felt in a relationship that’s only a few weeks old.

The waitress comes over to take their orders, forcing them to release each other’s hands. After placing her order and handing over the menu, she looks over at Jake ordering his own burger (fried egg and mac 'n cheese… his eating habits horrify her), and she smiles at him, tucking her hair behind both ears.

Jake looks back to her after finishing his order, reaching for her hand again.

 _Yeah, this feels right_ , she thinks as they wait for their food.

**ii. sweetheart**

Amy feels like garbage. She can’t remember the last time she felt this sick. She could tell for a week leading up to this that she was about to get sick, even though she tells everyone that she does not _EVER_ get sick.

Yet, here she is. Laying in her bed, missing a day of work because she has a fever of 101 and a super congested head. She’s been re-watching old episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race to pass the time, but she would rather be at work. Or honestly doing anything else other than wallow in her illness.

The only upside is Jake keeps sending her cute texts throughout the day, which is sweet of him to do. They usually text a little bit, just to keep each other updated, but he’s been texting her more than normal.

Her phone buzzes in that moment signaling another text from him.

_I’m omw to ur apartment and I have a surprise for u!!!_

Amy smiles. Her boyfriend of 8 months, whom she loves so much, is honestly the cutest person.

**Can’t wait to see the surprise.**

**And you <3.**

_Being sick has made u even sappier, Santiago_

**What can I say? I just love you.**

_I love you too, see u in a few_

Amy giggles at how Jake abbreviates you to “u” every time except when he says I love you. He told her it was because saying “I love u” didn’t hold as much meaning as “I love you.” She wasn’t sure if she agreed, but it was sweet that he did that, regardless.

Fifteen minutes later, she hears her front door opening. She had recently given Jake a copy of her a key. After going on the cruise, saying I love you for the first time, and meeting his mom (and dad), she felt it was appropriate he had it, instead of using her hidden spare or waiting for her to open the door.

“Ames, it’s me, your most-handsomest boyfriend! I come bearing gifts!”

“In the bedroom, Jake.”

Jake pokes his head in to see her sitting up a little bit more, surrounded by pillows, blankets, and loads of tissues. She ushers him over with the wave of her hand.

Sitting on the end of the bed next to her, he leans over and gives her a kiss on the forehead.

“Hi, how are you feeling?”

“Terrible. But better now that you’re here.”

Jakes laughs, “Seriously, you’re adorable when you’re sick, Ames.”

“I don’t feel adorable but thank you.”

“Nah, trust me. You are. Anyways! I brought a couple of things with me.”

Jake reaches into the bag he brought with him. He pulls out cough syrup, more congestion medicine, cough drops, and container that looks like it might have soup in it.

“Where did you get that, babe?”, Amy says, pointing to the soup container.

“It’s the surprise! I went to your favorite deli and I picked up their creamy chicken noodle, since I know it’s your favsies. Plus, I stopped at the pharmacy and picked up some extra medicine in case you were running low.”

Amy reaches out and places her hand on Jake’s face, feeling his cool skin. He leans into her touch, the move so minuscule, she hardly registers it. “Jake, this is so sweet. Thank you. You really are the best. I love you.”

Jake looks bashful. Amy admires how far they’ve come. Instead of saying “ _noice, smort”_ whenever they get emotional now, he just gets a little quiet and collects his thoughts before he responds.

“I love you too, sweetheart.” Amy’s lips curl up at the nickname. “So, wanna dig in? I got myself a sandwich while I was there and I’m very excited to eat it.”

“Sure. Let’s go eat it in the dining room though. You know I don’t really like eating in my bed.”

Jake rolls his eyes at her. “Ames, you’re sick. You’re going to wash your sheets anyways, once you’re no longer sick. I feel like you can cut yourself some slack.”

Amy purses her lips and considers her boyfriend. He does have a point…

“Fine.” Jake fist bumps the sky at that. “But you have to go get my trays that I have under my cabinets. I still don’t really want to spill anything.”

He kisses her cheek as he moves to get up. “Deal. Be right back.”

Jake and Amy spend the rest of the night watching Drag Race cuddled in bed. Amy insisted that Jake sit just a little bit away from her, so he wouldn’t get sick (he _just_ had the mumps), but he told her he didn’t care.

Amy realizes that being sick may suck, but it gets a little better when you have the best boyfriend.

**iii. baby**

Amy feels like she’s on fire. Every nerve on her body is attuned to Jake and only Jake. The man himself is currently in between her legs, flicking his tongue on her clit, pumping two fingers in and out of her, driving her mad.

“Jake, _oh my god right there_ , please let me come.”

Jake just laughs in response, and starts to suck on her clit, curling his fingers into her, picking up his pace. He doesn’t relent on the pace for another minute, until Amy can feel the orgasm coming.

Her back starts to come up off the mattress, but Jake’s free arm comes around to wrap around her stomach, holding her down.

“Holy _fuck,_ Jake, I’m so close,” Amy says, clutching the back of Jake’s head harder.

Jake adds one more finger, making her whimper in response. He twists his fingers just as he flattens his tongue over her clit, and she’s gone. She comes hard against Jake’s mouth, the feeling in her feet gone completely numb.

“God, you’re so hot when you finish.”

Amy looks down at her boyfriend ( _fiancé,_ she giddily corrects to herself), who is laying his head on her thigh, lightly running his fingers up and down her leg. He looks smug, but admittedly, he deserves to be with how hard she just came.

“That was amazing, Jake. How are you so good at that?”

“Gina told me when we were like 18 that girls love it when guys go down on them, so I made it my life’s mission to be good at giving head.”

Amy giggles at that. “Really?”

He smiles in return at her. “Yeah, I know it seems ridiculous, but as an 18-year-old, I would’ve done _anything_ to impress girls, so whenever I got the chance with a girl, I always went down on her. Eventually, it just became my favorite thing to do.”

“That’s kind of sweet.”

“Well, your fiancé is a sweet guy, Santiago.”

“He is. Come up here though. I want to kiss you.”

Jake obliges, quickly moving up her body and kissing her right on the lips. Amy can taste herself on his lips, which fuels her libido all over again. She reaches down and starts to stroke Jake’s dick, which causes him to groan into her mouth.

“Fuck, this is not going to last long,” Jake says, as he starts to kiss her neck, moving down to suck a hickey on her boob.

Amy moans, pushing Jake up and over onto his back. She moves to straddle his waist, reaching down again to lube his cock with his precum, while Jake’s hands move to grip her waist.

“I’m about to rock your world, Peralta.”

“I have no doubt about that. Condom?”

“No, I want to be close to you tonight.”

Jake groans. “Fuck, this is seriously not about to last long.”

Amy smiles coyly at him. “Then, we better make it good, huh?”

Amy slides back, rubbing her clit on his dick, getting it even more wet. She aligns herself with him, and starts to push down on his cock, feeling the stretch of his big dick. She hums as she starts to adjust to his size, using her hands on his chest to create some leverage. Realizing she had closed her eyes, she opens them to see Jake staring at her in awe.

“Fuck, baby, you’re so hot.”

Amy whimpers at that and begins to move up and down. Starting the pace slow, Amy builds as she starts to get more accustomed to his size. Eventually, she’s worked up to a nice steady pace, already feeling the orgasm building inside her again.

After a few minutes of this pace, Jake sits up suddenly, changing the angle of his cock, making it go even deeper inside Amy. She moans, loudly, not even caring if her neighbors hear her. She just got engaged to the love of her life, and she deserves to have super-hot, super fantastic sex with her fiancé.

Before, Jake was letting her take control, setting the speed of their sex. Now, Jake is meeting her with every bounce, pushing up into her, hitting her just right. He reaches down rubbing her clit as she continues to move up and down on his cock.

“Jake, holy shit, that feels so good. _Harder_ , please.”

“Yeah, baby? You like that?”

Amy just wraps her arms around Jake’s shoulders in response, sucking on his neck. All of a sudden, she can feel Jake’s arm around her waist tighten slightly, and she starts to roll until she’s on her back.

Jake quickly grabs her left leg, pushing it up towards her chest, opening her up just a little bit more, keeping his hand there on her leg, while his other hand is running up and down her sides. He starts to pick up his pace, really drilling into her now.

Amy uses her one hand to bring Jake’s face closer to hers, vying for a kiss. He meets her halfway, their lips meeting in a bit of clash. They’re both sweaty and hot and out of breath, so it ends up being more of them breathing each other in.

“Jake, I’m so close, _mmm_ , keep going, just like that.”

Jake grunts in response and continues at his relentless pace. “You’re so beautiful, baby, so beautiful. You feel perfect around my cock, like you were made me for me. I can’t believe I get to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Amy clenches around Jake, hearing him moan at that. She reaches down and starts to touch herself, feeling her orgasm building again.

“Yeah, that’s it, Ames. You’re so pretty when you touch yourself.”

Amy cranes her neck up, latching onto his neck, sucking at his Adam’s apple. Jake, in response, shifts her right leg up, closer to her chest, opening her even wider, pushing in at an even faster rate. As he does this, she starts to pick rub her clit a little bit quicker.

“Jake, right there, oh my _God_ ,” she says as she comes, feeling her walls fluttering around Jake’s dick.

Jake fucks her through her orgasm, making it last even longer. He nudges her nose with his, angling for a kiss, as she starts to come down. She kisses him hard, just for a second. She brings both of her hands to his face to keep his face close and starts to whisper against his lips. Jake always loves it when she talks during sex, once saying that it’s the hottest thing in the world.

“Babe, you feel so good inside me. No one’s ever filled me as good as you do.”

Jake groans and continues to fuck into her, “fuck, Ames, keep talking.”

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you so much, you’re the perfect person for me. I can’t believe I’m so lucky that I get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend.”

Moaning, Jake picks up his pace again, driving into her. Feeling another orgasm building for her, she tells him so, causing him to reach down and touch her so she’ll finish with him.

“Oh my god, Jake, I’m _so_ close.”

“Yeah, that’s it, I know you have one more in you. I love you so much, Ames, you’re my dream girl.”

Amy brings him close, kissing him on the lips, right as he drives into her at the perfect angle, causing her to come once again. As she comes, it sends Jake over the edge. She can feel him spilling inside of her and hears him groan in her ear as he finishes.

Jake and Amy both sit in each other’s arms for a minute, trying to catch their breath. Jake reluctantly pushes up and out, causing Amy to whimper slightly. He kisses her forehead, saying, “I’ll be right back.”

Amy watches him scamper into the bathroom, returning a moment later with a wet cloth. Having already wiped himself down, he sets to cleaning Amy up, kissing her lightly before throwing the towel in the hamper.

As Jake settles down on the bed, Amy curls around him, desperately feeling the need to be close to him. In return, he wraps one arm around her shoulders, the other resting softly on her hip. Amy looks up into his face to see a look of pure love shining right back at her.

Leaning in close, she says, “I love you so much, Jake Peralta. I can’t wait to marry you.”

“I love _you_ so much, Amy Santiago. I’m so happy you agreed to marry me.”

Tucking herself under his chin, she’s really never felt happier.

**iv. honey**

Wedding planning is _stressful_. There is so much work that goes into it. She’s now successfully planned Rosa and Adrian’s impromptu wedding in under a day, and while she definitely gave it her all, this was _her_ wedding. She needs it to be perfect.

And yes, she knows Jake would marry her in a dumpster, but she doesn’t want that. She wants the magic of the wedding to come alive when people enter the Long Island recreation center. She just wants everything to go as planned.

She’s currently sitting in the break room at work, pouring over catalogues of menu options to choose from. While they’ve definitely settled on a caterer, they haven’t quite nailed down the menu and this is one of her last opportunities to do so, since the caterer wants the menu plans by tomorrow.

“Santiago.”

Amy looks up to see Rosa standing in front of her, having clearly just refilled her coffee mug.

“You look more stressed than usual. What are you doing?”

“Uh, just finalizing some stuff for the wedding.”

Rosa squints her eyes at Amy, eyeing her up. “I thought you loved this crap though. And didn’t you and Jake get a lot of it done when you first got engaged?”

“I do love planning this stuff! And we did get a lot of it done! It’s just, we hadn’t completely decided on the menu for the wedding, even though we put a down deposit on the caterer. They were kind enough to give us an extension to think about it some more, but you know, between work and the holidays, it’s been a little crazy for the two of us. So, we haven’t had time to really sit down and decide what type of food we wanted at our wedding. And now, I’m sitting here, trying to decide, and Jake should be here helping me, but him and Charles’ perp was spotted a couple blocks from here, and I told him he _had_ to go get him, you know? I mean, he’s been working this case for months and – “

“Amy.”

Amy stops talking, realizing she’s been rambling now for about 30 seconds without even taking a breath. Oh God, she’s about to spiral, her chest already starting to tighten up.

“Hey, Amy, look at me.”

Amy looks at Rosa’s face. She’s speaking softly to Amy, as if she doesn’t want to spook her.

“Look, I don’t want you to start having an anxiety attack. Why don’t we go down to Babylon and relax until Jake gets back? Just something to keep your mind off the whole thing.”

Amy already starts to calm down. Her and Rosa’s friendship had started off a bit rocky, since it was hard for Rosa to open up to people. But in the 7 years that they’ve known one another now, it’s grown into a deep, genuine friendship. And she knows Rosa gives off a hard exterior, but inside, she cares a lot about all of her friends.

“Thanks, Rosa. That would be nice.”

“No problem, dude. Leave the binder behind.”

For the next half hour or so, Rosa and Amy escape into Babylon talking about literally anything _but_ planning a wedding.

(“Hot dogs are not sandwiches, Rosa! What are you talking about?”

“Dude, look up the definition of a sandwich. I’m telling you, it is.”)

She didn’t even realize her phone has been buzzing until Rosa points out to her that her lock screen is illuminated. Looking down, she sees a number of texts from Jake.

_Hey, r u sure ur okay? Rosa texted me saying u looked super stressed_

_Ames? Pls don’t get too worked up, I’ll be back soon, I love you <3_

_Sorry this is taking so long, the dude cut up some alleys n we lost him 4 a little_

_Omw back!!_

_I’m back, where r u guys?_

Amy texts him back saying, “ **With Rosa. Be right there.** ”

“Jake and Charles are back. Let’s head back up into the bullpen. Thanks for helping me out, Rosa. I appreciate it.”

“No worries. That’s why I’m one of your bridesmaids. I got your back.”

Walking back into the bullpen, Amy sees Jake standing next to Charles desk, gesticulating wildly, assuming he’s talking about the taking down the perp they just arrested.

“Jake.”

Jake looks up from Charles, his expression changing from awed and intense to awed and soft. She loves seeing that look on him. It’s the one special look that only she gets to be on the receiving end on.

“Hey, where did you guys go?”

“Babylon. Rosa took care of me in your absence.”

Jake looks over to Rosa and nods at her. Rosa nods back and walks away. Amy just shakes her head, still not getting the slight nod.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jake asks, reaching for her hand.

Squeezing his hand, Amy says, “Yeah, I’m better now. Let’s go to the break room.”

Jake follows her to the break room, seeing her wedding binders spread all over the table.

“Ames… I told you to wait for me. We’ll figure out the menu together.”

“I know, I know! It’s just… I want this to be perfect, you know. Your proposal was beyond perfect and now, I want to make sure our wedding is going to be perfect. And I know you said you would be happy to marry me in a dumpster, but I want it to be magical.”

Jake’s face morphs into that of soft admiration of her.

“Honey, our wedding is going to be perfect _because_ I’m getting married to you. Not because we have the best menu options. Plus, you always make the right decision! I trust you with everything.”

Smiling, Amy replies, “I love you. Thank you for always believing in me.”

“I always will. And I love you, too. So, what are you thinking for the menu?”

“Well, we have a number of options. So, the first course can either be…”

Jake ends up being right in the end. It doesn’t matter what their dinner menu is; as long as Amy gets to marry her best friend, it’s magical.

**v. love**

When Amy found out she was pregnant, she started planning immediately for when she was going to give birth. Her and Jake planned all kinds of routes for how to get to the hospital from their home, the precinct, and even from their parents’ homes. They were _ready_.

But the truth is, nothing will ever prepare you for what it’s like to go into labor in the middle of a freak snowstorm.

Jake and Amy had originally joked that they should try and have their baby on Halloween. And then it ended up not really being a joke. So, let’s just say that in the month of January 2020, they were having sex _a lot_.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t always work out perfectly. Amy didn’t get pregnant then – that wouldn’t happen until March.

It was fine though; they were having a December baby, and they couldn’t be more excited. Still, they had thought they had planned for everything. And sure, they still get snow in December in NYC, but it usually isn’t too bad.

Unfortunately, on December 4th, the day of their daughter’s birth, a huge snowstorm hit New York, shutting it down completely. And of course, because Amy Santiago is always punctual, she went into labor right on schedule.

Their car was packed to leave for the hospital, but both of their cars wouldn’t start because it was so cold outside. So, they called Charles, their back-up driver, to come and get them, but he couldn’t get his car shoveled out.

By this point, Amy really started going into labor, which was progressing quicker than they thought it would.

(“My mom had super long labors, so I’m sure I’ll have a long labor, too.”

That was not the case.)

They would’ve called the rest of the squad, but they all lived too far away, so there was no way they would get there in time with the prevailing weather conditions. Eventually, they had no other option than to call an ambulance, since they didn’t want to risk having a baby in a taxi or an uber. And Amy was _vehemently_ against taking public transportation because she was not going to have her baby where people vomit and piss very regularly.

In the end, it worked out though, despite their plans falling apart. They got to the hospital with about a half hour to spare and they delivered a healthy baby girl – Mariposa “Mari” Peralta-Santiago.

After she was cleaned and swaddled into her blankets, Jake and Amy slowly brought all of their families in to meet her. They started with the parents, then Amy’s seven brothers and their entire families, and then the squad met her one by one. The best moment for both of them was when Holt held her in his arms and said, “Hello, Mari. I’m Commissioner Raymond Holt. It’s nice to meet you.” Jake and Amy smiled at each other with tears in their eyes.

Eventually, Amy needed to sleep. She had been up early with anxiety about her labor date and she had just spent 2 hours in intense labor. She was exhausted. There was just one problem.

“I’m just not ready to stop holding her though.”

“I understand that Ms. Santiago, but you need your sleep. It’ll be better for you and your daughter if you get some sleep.”

Amy was about ready to argue with Barbara, their nurse, when Jake came back with coffee (for him) and tea (for her).

“Hey Ames. I have your tea. How’s she doing?”

“Hello, Mr. Peralta. Both Mari and your wife are doing well. I was just explaining to Amy though, that she needs to get some sleep. It’s been a long day for her, and I really think she would benefit from it.”

Placing her tea on the table next to the bed and leaning down to kiss both her and Mari’s foreheads, Jake looks back up at Barbara, and then back down to Amy.

“You know, she has a point, Ames. It would be good for you. I mean, you know I always think you look beautiful, but you do look a little tired right now.”

“I know, it’s just… I love holding her.”

Jake’s eyes soften. “I know, love. But you’re tired and you’re going to have plenty of opportunities to hold Mari over the next several years. Why don’t you sleep for an hour and half? And I’ll wake you up after the one REM cycle. Just so you can feel better. And I’m sure she’ll want to eat when you wake up. She’ll hang out with me until then.”

Amy almost coos out loud at that. She really does have the best husband. One, he knows she always likes to get the perfect amount of sleep, so she feels most refreshed. Two, he’s read the baby books she recommended for him, so he knows when Mari might need to be fed. And three, just knowing Mari will be with him is enough to calm her down. She had been hesitant to hand her over to Barbara, even if she is a trained medical professional. Plus, she knows Jake wants to hold her, since Amy and the families have mostly done that up until now.

“Okay, that sounds like a plan. I love you.” Jake smiles at her. Amy looks down at her daughter. “And I love you, too, Mari. You’re going to hang out with your daddy for a little bit.”

Amy hands her daughter over to Jake, watching how carefully he handles her. “ _He’s already the best dad_ ,” she thinks to herself.

“Okay, Ms. Santiago, we’ll be back in about an hour and a half and we’ll help you feed your daughter for the first time. If you need anything, just hit the button and we’ll come in.”

“Thanks, Barbara.” Amy turns back to her husband, who’s gently rocking their daughter back and forth.

“Alright, Ames, I’ll wake you at 8:20. We’ll be here when you wake up. Me and Mari are going to get some bonding in. We love you.”

“Love you, too.”

As Amy drifts off to sleep, she can hear Jake whispering softly to their daughter, probably talking about Die Hard. She falls asleep with a smile on her face.

**+vi. cariño**

Jake loves being a dad.

He was obviously concerned about being a father, since he didn’t have the best role model growing up. But Amy had reassured him very early into her pregnancy that she had no doubts about him being a great dad. And there are definitely times where he doesn’t know what to do, but he always tries his hardest to be the best. Amy (and Terry and Charles and Gina and his mom) all reassure him that that’s normal.

Mari is just a ball of energy. At three years old, she loves action figures, playing dress up, and making the prettiest arts and crafts at pre-school. She’s a perfect blend of him and Amy. It’s the cutest thing in the entire world.

Tobias, or Toby, is their one-year old son. While they had desperately tried to have Mari on Halloween, they realized they couldn’t plan their second birth as perfectly. So, when they found how their son was scheduled to be born on October 31st, they couldn’t believe it. He’s the cutest baby in the world (tied with their daughter, of course).

The best part is the two of them love each other so much. Amy was concerned that Mari would hate having a brother, but she’s taken her role of being a big sister very seriously. It’s been very endearing to watch.

Currently, Jake is watching them by himself because Amy is out of town for a captains conference. It’s the first time she’s leaving Toby for an extended period of time, so she was a bit anxious to go. Jake quickly reassured it was all going to be fine, he was a pro at this. And Jake knew Amy trusted him 100% with their kids, she just had separation anxiety from them. The goodbye lasted for almost a half hour before Jake forced her out the door, so she wouldn’t miss her train to Baltimore.

Things have gone super smoothly up all week. Jake wakes up each morning, gets the kids dressed and fed for the day. His mom comes over around 8:15, where she watches Toby for the day. Jake will drop Mari off at pre-k on the way, where Karen will pick her up mid-day. For the remainder of the day, they’ll hang out at the house with their bubbie until Jake gets home around 6 pm. He makes them dinner, has playtime with them, gets them ready for bed, reads Mari her bedtime stories, and then goes to sleep himself. It’s honestly their typical routine, except for the fact that Amy is not there.

And don’t get it twisted. Jake is _crushing_ it. However, he didn’t realize it’s just a little bit easier to get things done when his wife is home. Like for example, on the second night of Amy being gone, Jake was trying to feed Toby his dinner, but Mari kept trying to get up to play with her new toy. Normally, one of them would've handled Mari, while the other fed Toby. But he managed it just fine.

(“Daddy, I don’t want dinner right now! I want to play with my Wonder Woman doll!”

“I know, Mar, but you have to eat first.”

“But the world is in danger!”

“But superheroes need to eat sometimes, too, monkey. Why doesn’t Wonder Woman eat with you, so she’s completely fueled up for the big fight?”

That seemed to do the trick for his daughter.)

They’ve facetimed with Amy twice since she’s been gone and the kids love it each time; although, Jake thinks Toby doesn’t really know what’s happening, even if it is very cute that his eyes widen whenever he hears Amy’s voice through the phone.

Currently, they’re on the last and final day of Amy being gone. Amy was hoping that she would be home for bed time, but her train had gotten delayed out of Baltimore (stupid Amtrak keeping him away from his wife!). So, she wasn’t going to be home until sometime between 10-11 pm. He had already put Toby to sleep, and he had just gotten Mari down for bed. Luckily, it seemed like she was actually going to go to bed. Their 3-year-old had recently been arguing with them about bedtime, and it has not been fun. But she seems exhausted from the week. Plus, it probably helped that Jake bribed her to go to bed with the promise of chocolate chip pancakes in the morning.

Jake had been planning on staying up for Amy because he wants some alone time with her before she spends the weekend with the kids. So, he’s forcing himself to watch some TV on the couch, despite this normally being the time he would slip into bed himself. He looks down to check his phone seeing a text from Amy.

**Just got to Newark. I’ll be back in hopefully an hour.**

_Can’t wait to see u babe, I’ve missed u_

**I’ve missed you too. And the kids. <3**

_The kids have missed u too. Mari keeps asking when u n her r going to play scrapbook again_

**Aw, that’s so cute.**

_The cutest_. _I’ll be up when u get back, I wanna kiss u ;)_

**Lol I’ve missed kissing you, too. I love you. See you soon.**

_I love you too_

Jake puts on House Hunters International to pass the time. And he really tries to pay attention. It’s just he’s exhausted from the week without Amy and it’s an episode he’s seen before. So, it comes as no surprise to him that he feels someone shaking him, trying to wake him up sometime later.

“Jake, wake up. You fell asleep.”

Jake’s eyes slowly flutter open to see his beautiful wife sitting next to him on the couch.

“Hi cariño, you seem tired.”

Jake smiles at his wife. He loves it when she calls him cariño. Jake knows he uses a lot of different nicknames for her, but she usually only uses a select few. Babe is easily her favorite. And she’ll occasionally use baby when they’re in the middle of sexy timez. But cariño is only used when she’s feeling really soft about him. He doesn’t even think she realizes it, but it makes his heart beat just a little bit faster whenever she does.

“Hey, sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, it’s probably been a long week.”

“Hey, I kicked some major parenting butt this week.” Amy giggles at that. “But, yeah, I will admit that it’s much easier to do this when you’re around.”

Reaching forward, she puts her hand on his face.

“Well, I’m here now.”

Jake can’t help himself. He leans forward and kisses his wife, hearing her sigh against his lips. And all he can think in that moment is, “ _now and forever_.”

**Author's Note:**

> leave comments and kudos as always <3 you can find me on tumblr @ chasesjackson
> 
> also for any readers out there who watch west wing... there's a tiny west wing reference in there. lemme know if u see it :)


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